VOA标准英语2011--Yemen Unrest Deepens, Downward Spiral Sp

Yemen Unrest Deepens, Downward Spiral Spreads

Yemeni government troops in Sana'a are again fighting members of the Hashid tribe, just one of several forces, including militants¹ and anti-government protesters, seeking to oust² President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The street battles followed a brief truce³ between the government and forces loyal to Sheikh Sadek al-Ahmar, and threatened once again to push Yemen toward civil war.
The two sides had tentatively achieved a cease-fire Sunday, but al-Ahmar loyalists accused the government of breaking the deal with renewed attacks on the sheikh's Sana'a compound. The government countered that fault lay with Hashid fighters who retook key government buildings in Sana'a.
Meanwhile, officials and medics say suspected militants have killed at least five soldiers near the southern town of Zinjibar, which was seized by fighters described as Islamist militants in recent days. Government forces have carried out air strikes over the town.
The underlying⁴ opposition⁵ demand - that President Saleh step down as outlined in a deal brokered⁶ by the Gulf⁷ Cooperation Council - remains⁸ unchanged. Saleh has three times rejected the plan.
Tom Finn, a journalist in Sana'a, described the fighting in the past days as the heaviest since protests began against Saleh four months ago.
"There was continuous machine gun fire and very loud, heavy explosions which were rattling⁹ the windows of houses across Sana'a," recalled Finn.
He says both sides are firing shells and anti-aircraft missiles at the other, ravaging¹⁰ part of the capital.
"The east of the capital has pretty much been evacuated¹¹. It's an area called Hasaba. It's a heavily, densely¹² populated residential¹³ area which is now a ghost town," Finn said. "The houses are empty, the streets are filled with smashed up walls and concrete and bullet holes. It's essentially¹⁴ a battle zone in this neighborhood."
More residents were reported trying to leave the capital, after others fled during fighting between the two sides last week.
"What I'm seeing and hearing on the streets of Sana'a is sort of widespread panic and fear of what's coming in Yemen," said Finn.
The clashes in Sana'a and Zinjibar are but two of the fronts in the effort to force President Saleh from power. Witnesses in the southwestern city Taiz say more anti-government protesters were killed by troops Tuesday.
The government's deadly push to clear the city's central square began Sunday. The United Nations refugee agency says it has reports that more than 50 people have been killed in the crackdown in Taiz.
While the pressure on Saleh is clearly growing, whether his disparate opponents can, or even want to unite, is less apparent.
Tom Finn says the matter is dividing political protesters in Sana'a, who, inspired by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, have been seeking a democratic alternative to more than three decades of Saleh's authoritarian¹⁵ rule.
"There's mixed opinion of whether they want the support of these tribes, whether or not they want to see armed groups with them because generally speaking, one of the main mottos of their urban movement is that it is peaceful," Finn said.
He says a big worry for the political protesters now is that their movement is going to be "completely eclipsed" by the violence.

1 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

2 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

3 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

4 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 brokered   

adj.由权力经纪人安排（或控制）的v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的过去式和过去分词 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• a peace plan brokered by the UN 由联合国出面协商的和平计划
• Your husband brokered the deal to go in, transfrer the assets and get our man out. 你丈夫后来插了一脚，把生意都抢了过去，我们的人也被挤了出来。 来自电影对白

7 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 rattling   

adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词

参考例句：

• This book is a rattling good read. 这是一本非常好的读物。
• At that same instant,a deafening explosion set the windows rattling. 正在这时，一声震耳欲聋的爆炸突然袭来，把窗玻璃震得当当地响。

10 ravaging   

毁坏( ravage的现在分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫

参考例句：

• It is believed that in fatigue there is a repeated process of ravaging the material. 据认为，在疲劳中，有一个使材料毁坏的重复过程。
• I was able to capture the lion that was ravaging through town. 我能逮住正在城里肆虐的那头狮子。

11 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

12 densely   

ad.密集地；浓厚地

参考例句：

• A grove of trees shadowed the house densely. 树丛把这幢房子遮蔽得很密实。
• We passed through miles of densely wooded country. 我们穿过好几英里茂密的林地。

13 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

14 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

15 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。